[Polardaddy]

Hi All, I'm in the Oly area for now, will be heading a little north after the first of the year Tacoma-ish area. Anyways, I am just getting into fly fishing, will spare you all the long story, but I do not have a rod yet, have a second dad figure who has fly fished off and on since the 70's, he only uses St. Croix, I also work with a couple guys who fish and they say all the expensive ones are great, but to start with a cheaper one to make sure I'd like it, but to get a TFO, Redington, or even a Lamiglas.

But I've been to a couple local big name shops (cabela's and Wholesale sports) but no fly specialist shops yet. there are a ton of different rods out there.....Gremlin, Okuma, Ugly stick........and the list goes on for a mile, can anyone throw a couple out there that will not break the bank or have to sell my first born (she'd be mad lol)

 

[Poopy McButtfart]

As someone who's all about fishin on the cheap these days, Echos are tough to beat. I have 3 Echos, a TFO, and a Guideline currently. I've owned Sage, Scott, and Redingtons previously as well. Go check out your local shop that carries Echo rods. But really, it's tough to go wrong with any of them. Nobody makes a rod I'd say is downright shitty (with the exception of the cheapo Wal-Mart style brands)

 

[Mumbles]

No rod, limited budget? Get what you can afford and get out after it. Unless you get one of the rare few poor entry level rods you'll do fine. I have rods from Sage, Loomis, Orvis, TFO, Echo, Lamiglass, St. Croix, custom builts by others and ones I've built myself. Every one has caught fish. I'd recommend you consider the Echo or TFO line because they have a great price point and warranty is awesome. You could also post a Want To Buy (WTB) thread in the classifieds here. State your budget, what rod weight or species you expect to target and see what others will offer up. Welcome and good luck.

Redingtons too...sorry, forgot them, very affordable and really good fishing tools.

 

[Rob Ast]

I would agree with Evan and Mumbles that the Echos are hard to beat. Check out the carbon rods - same price point as the TFOs but way more feel. For even more feel with a more forgiving medium action at a similar price check out the Redington Classic trout (ct) series.

 

[junkie]

I have to agree with the above. When I got my nephew and his girl into flyfishing I talked them into TFO's and they haven't been disappointed. My new rod is going to be Echo. It's G-Loomis technology at a fair price. But all that being said..... I love my Sage!

 

[Tim Overbey]

You can check out The Fly Fisher in Lacey if you like. I know they sell Echo and Cam Sigler, check them out, good guys.

 

[Mike Lee]

Polardaddy, welcome aboard! There are some very smart cats here that have put me into fish [unfortunately lack of technique keeps my numbers down]. I'm a Redington fan, but like everyone has said here, you can't go wrong with the brands listed. If the budget is a big concern, like Mumbles mentioned, it is important to pick the species you want to target. If you want an all round in between I would suggest a 5 or 6 wt. A little heavy for the tiny dries, but again my lack of skill is at fault as I have seem many a fisherman cast the smallest dries with a 6 wt. There are combo kits in the classifieds that can help save you money too. Here's one:

http://www.washingtonflyfishing.com...-690-4-Kit-New-Ross-Cimarron-2-w-Rio-Gold-WF5

It's a pretty good deal for a brand new kit.

Good Luck

Mike

 

[Guest]

A couple of points...first the Echo will be more suited to learning as they do have more feel than the TFO (which is fine rod). Go Airflo on the line, the investment will be worth it in the long and short run.

Secondly, you should choose a local fly shop and buy your stuff there. Most shops will set you up with your first rig at a good package price because they want to see new faces in the sport. They are an inexhaustable source of information, good, reliable, honest information. they have a vested interest in seeing you be successful unlike the guy at the big box store. As you become a regular customer, AND YOU WILL, you will find that shopping consistantly with a local fly shop will make the most efficient use of your money. You will experiment less, they will not sell you stuff you don't need and they will really help you become succesful.

Have fun!

 

[Polardaddy]

Wow, you guys are great with info, thanks. I should have put the intended fish to be caught, I'm looking for a steelhead/ salmon set up, so I guess I'm looking for a 9ft in the 8-9 weight, right?

ok thats funny, just looked up the fly fisher in lacey, its almost within walking distance from me. Thanks Tim,
my name is Rob

 

[orangeradish]

You can check out The Fly Fisher in Lacey if you like. I know they sell Echo and Cam Sigler, check them out, good guys.

+1. Great shop.

 

[SAVE STILLY NATES]

If going for steelhead and salmon i would go with the TFO to get you started. I use a TFO TiCr X 7 weight for all the fish i get one the stilly. I've caught 15 chinook in the 20-30 pound class on this rod this year on the stilly with many smaller ones, (5-15 pounds). I've also caught steelhead on this rod and it handles 4 and 6 pound florocarbon leaders without breaking the leader on setting the hook. Hope this helps

Jake

 

[Steve Saville]

TFO rods are hard to beat for the price. I have several as well as several other brands. Starting makes a difficult choice but a low end rod by any name company should suit fine for starters. You might want to try out some demo rods to see what suits your taste before you buy. Any reputable retailer will have demos you can borrow for a day or two.

 

[Blake Harmon]

If your going to specifically target salmon and steelhead I would get an 8. you can fish for everything you can with the 7, and you got a little more backbone incase you run into those big kings. Jakes ticr x is a model that would compare to alot of 8 wts so i could consider it near the same class.

 

[Alex MacDonald]

Cabela's usually has a small rack with their Wind River rods and a reel loaded with line, for around $50. Unless you're fishing salt water, a 5-wt is what you'll find in this group. The thing is, we get a rod, then we still have to pony up for the line, reel, flies, fly box, and all the other related crap that goes along. In the 4o or so years I've flyrodded, I've fished everything from bamboo to top-of-the-line sages. I spend my money on TFO Pro series rods, so I have enough left for a few cigars and a bottle of decent scotch!

 

[Carter Burke]

I think Echo has the best quality rods in the low end price range.. and you could probably find an old pfluger medalist on craigslist for under 20 bucks.. put a little lock-tite on all the screws on the reel and it's a reel that will last a life time.. this would leave you some cash to buy a good quality fly line.. plan on spending around 50 bucks on that....

 

[Gary Thompson]

Check out "fly shop closeouts.com" and pick a combo that fits your budget.
"sierratradingpost.com" also has some good deals.
I picked up a 9' 5wt Powell, 4 piece with reel, backing, line and travel cast for less than $125.00, very nice entry level rod & reel.
And I don't get paid for this ad.